Advanced Method for Manufacturing Erosion Resistant Gun Barrels

The complexities of barrel erosion are manifested in thermal, mechanical, and chemical interactions. Gun tubes made from refractory metals have excellent barrel erosion resistance, but are costly to manufacture. A need exists for an economical technique to line gun barrels with erosion and wear resistant materials. TPL will demonstrate a three unit operation process for cladding liners into gun tubes using its customizable explosive, REPLEX. These three unit operations are :1) An explosive cladding of a refractory metal to a steel gun tube; 2) An explosive depth hardening operation; and 3) The application of a metal conditioner to improve the surface microstructure of the liner. TPL's approach to the program will consist of three stages: 1) Design of the processes and fabrication of the necessary hardware; 2) Conduct of the processes (cladding, hardening, and chemical treatment); and 3) Evaluation of the products. An economic analysis of the process is a dependent task based ont he results of the testing. TPL's team is composed of individuals with the requisite experience - shock physics, dynamic test experience, and metallurgical engineering. The company has the means to commercializae this process including manufacturing space, testing ranges, and experience taking products from R&D to full scale. BENEFITS: The anticipated benefit to the militasry will be a substantial reduction in the costs associated with gun tube manufacture and replacement. The commercial applications include manufacture of economical erosion resistant chemical process tubing and reactors.